Be Still...

"Be Still. 

The quieter you become, the more you can hear."

Ram Dass

Some call it prayer. Some call it meditation. Some call it intuition.

But in this moment, I'll simply call it the calm and the strength.

Be still.

Much Loves,

Angela.

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A Choice of Love...

"Because I always have a choice, I choose Love!"

Deepak Chopra 

A prayer. A mantra. A meditation.

An affirmation. And a beautifully powerful choice.

Much Loves...

And more Loves,

Angela.

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Questions and Answers...

"Everything in the universe is inside you. 

You have the answer to all your questions."

Rumi

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Random Thoughts... Take Time. To Make Time...

You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day. 

Unless you are too busy. Then you should sit for an hour."

Old Zen Adage

My own personal lesson of the day. Stop.

Take time. To make time.

These past weeks have felt like a wonderful chaos around me.

I'm dancing between my projects and client work, as though I'm dancing at four weddings and a funeral. All at the same time. In the same moment. And these pasts days, I feel like I'm the queen of dancing two steps behind, and out of tune.

But I hope, with a bit of grace.

Mind you, I'm in love with my work and I believe in my work, and hence I call it a wonderful chaos.

Wasn't it Nietzsche who once said, "You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star."

Thank you for that, Nietzsche. Thank you.

But this afternoon, I was driving home from a meeting and my mind was inspired and thinking of all the things I needed to do when I got back home. And all the things I wanted to do when I got back home. Home of course, is also lovingly known as my "Head Quarters"... and my "Heart Quarters".

And today was a beautiful day, an October beautiful day... In the distance I could see the vineyards, alongside me the harvest fields, and these glorious October colours....

And I heard myself in a monologue of thinking... I wish I had time to just stop and enjoy this all right now. Go for a walk, sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee...

The mind immediately replied in another monologue of thinking... Don't forget to make that phone call. You need to finish the texts for the website. You still haven't replied to that email. Schedule the appointment for next week....

And suddenly I heard something inside those thoughts say...

Stop. Right now. Inhale. Exhale.

Take time. To make time.

And then I knew what I had to do.

There is a little lake just outside this little town I call home.

A quaint little lake. With a walking path around it.

I remembered that one of the things on my infamous "to do" list that had not yet been accomplished over the past weeks was "Go for a walk around the lake. Collect hazelnuts."

In all the frenzy the past few weeks, I had been postphoning little things like this. And in that regard, I had been putting myself on hold.

Stop.

Take time. To make time.

And so, I went for my walk.

My mind was still inspired, but there was a calm in the inspiration. And I sensed my longing for awareness. Not the awareness of my "to do" list, and this phone call and that email, that appointment and this or that project. But the awareness of what was before me and around me, with each and every step. The awareness of the trees, the little pebbles beneath my feet. The stillness of the water. A bird that flew by.

It was like I had a deja vu of being a child. A walk of just a few steps could have taken me hours. The patience my mother must have had with me. And simply because as a child, I had to stop and pick up and touch each little flower along the way. I had to hold every little stone in my hand as though it were the first stone I had ever seen. It must have been something magical. And I looked at everything in wonder. Each crack in the sidewalk. Each person that walked by.

And I am probably guessing in saying, you were just the same as a child.

Aware. Awake. Beautifully wide awake. And in wonder.

And yes, I came by the hazelnut tree. Stopped, and picked each nut up, one by one by one. As many as my pockets could hold.

When I got back to my car, there was a different woman standing there, than the woman I was just an hour earlier. I caught myself smiling.

Stop.

Take time. To make time.

There's a little café at the lake. I had my notebook with me, the paper and pen type of notebook, I had my cigarettes with me. But most importantly, I had me, with me.

And I found myself thinking, now is the perfect moment for a cup of coffee. Me. My notebook. That little lake. Paper and pen. And a cup of coffee.

And I just sat there. I found myself writing down only two words. And those two words were, "Thank you".

I believe I was thanking myself. And maybe I was thanking God. And possibly I was thanking Life. And I was just thanking the moment.

Calm. Quiet. Happy. Inspired.

Meditation doesn't always have to be "om".

And meditation doesn't always have to be sitting cross legged on the floor, trying so hard to force yourself to meditate and not think about the laundry, or why he said what he said when you wanted him to say what... ommmm... but i think i'm hungry and when I'm finished with this, the first thing I want to do is make myself something to eat and... ommmm... am I the only person in the world that can't frigging just be quiet and sit here and meditate? Sat nam. And namasté.

No. Meditation is often just a walk in the woods. Or a walk around the lake. And being aware. Of you and yourself. And where you are. And letting the simple things in that moment be so beautifully real that you feel the colour, and touch the air and smell the breeze kiss your skin.

No. Meditation is often just a cup of coffee. Sitting there. Gazing. And catching yourself with a gentle smile.

No. Meditation is letting things stop. Even if just for a moment.

Take time. To make time.

And as the Old Zen Adage goes...

"You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day. Unless you are too busy. Then you should sit for an hour."

Much Loves,

Angela.

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Listen...

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. Listen."

Rumi

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YOGA for REAL HAPPINESS with MAYA FIENNES

YOGA for REAL HAPPINESS with MAYA FIENNES.

October 30th, 2014 in Wiesenbach, Germany.

I have been doing yoga with Maya Fiennes for years. However, simply in my living room. And with her wonderful Kundalini Yoga DVDs, which I dearly recommend. And I have long been manifesting that the day will come that I can attend one of her retreats and to meet her personally. On my vision wall over the years there is Maya and Goa Goa...

I have shared and introduced Maya's work to so many of my friends over the years and they too have been beautifully touched by Maya and Kundalini yoga. And since the beginning of My Beautiful Words, I have been sharing quotes from her as well.

And here we are. Maya will be holding a Yoga for REAL Happiness day session at my flowers of life in Wiesenbach, Germany. A dream of a location at Katja Merkel's showroom and atelier. Katja is the wonderful designer behind the My Flowers of Life cashmere and silk collections, and a dear friend.

Maya instructs with an energetic technique that will elevate your mind and resonation, clear your system of toxins, and leave you feeling focused, vibrant, and most than beautifully alive. In this workshop, Maya will focus on everyday issues and teach you how the breathing exercises, postures, mantras and meditation from Kundalini Yoga can help you achieve REAL Happiness in Life. Happiness, something we all look for, however often need reminding and guiding that it is within ourselves. And it simply needs to be unlocked with the key that we hold in our hearts and in our hands.

30 October | 5 pm - 7 pm and 8 pm - 10 pm
Including a Sri Lankan Dinner | 7 pm – 8 pm
Price: 180,00 EUR

Location:
My Flowers of Life
Langenzell 1
69257 Wiesenbach
Germany

Booking:

mail@myflowersoflife.com | phone +49 6223 7299055

or on Maya's page www.mayaspace.com

Much Loves,

Angela.

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What if...

"What if our religion was each other, If our practice was our life and if prayer our words? What if the temple was the Earth, if forests were our church and if holy waters were the rivers, lakes, and oceans? What if meditation was our relationships, the teacher was life and wisdom was knowledge? What if love was the center of our being?"

Ganga White

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Listen to Yourself...

"Listen to yourself. 

And in that quietude you might hear the voice of God."

Maya Angelou

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The Ocean...

"The sight of the ocean is meditation. 

The sound of its waves is the mantra."

Gavin Pretor-Pinney

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Teach Meditation...

"If every child in the world would be taught meditation, 

we would eliminate violence from the world within one generation."

The Dalai Lama

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Time Alone...

"Spend some time alone every day."

Dalai Lama

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Inspiring Lives. Inspiring Change.

The Glory of Solitude...

"Language has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the  word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone."

Paul Tillich

I wish you beautiful, nurturing moments of Solitude.

And should you feel lonely... Please think of these words.

And find strength, and glory.

Much Loves,

Angela.

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Your Soulmate...

"The Soulmate you are looking for is your own Self."

Maya Fiennes

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The Calm...

"It is all about finding the calm in the chaos."

Donna Karan 

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Give Yourself Permission...

Give yourself permission.

All around me at the moment, that's the message I'm receiving.

And as we know, the message we need most whispers, or suddenly roars like thunder when we need it most.


Danielle LaPorte reminded me of that the other day. All she simply, but powerfully said was "Allow".

Martha Beck reminded me in the "Meditation of Acceptance" which I shared earlier with you.


So yes, I am giving myself permission.

To dare more. To love more. To say "yes" more. To say "no" more.

I am giving myself permission.

To dream more. To live more. To fall when I need to fall. To stand up when I want to stand up.

I am giving myself permission.

To be a woman. To be a girl. To play. To be passionate.

To be vulnerable. To be strong. To be fragile. To be graceful.

I am giving myself permission to be courageous.

Even if I am shaking in my knees.


And I am going to give myself permission to ask you...

What are you allowing yourself?

What permission are you giving yourself?

Today? And for the rest of your life?


Dare with me. Be bold with me.

Let's give ourselves permission.

And a whole lot of Love.


Much Loves,

Angela.

PS. And you also have my permission to permit yourself.

Just in case you need a helping hand.


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A Meditation of Acceptance...

what it is. Breathing out, I allow everything in the world to be as it is, because I cannot change this moment. Breathing in, I accept my sorrows. I allow, because I cannot change this in this moment. I allow all of the circumstances to be as they are in this moment. I offer no resistance to the things I cannot change. I lay down the burden of trying to change anything in this moment. I surrender to allowing reality to be as it is. I will create no more suffering because of my resistance. It is okay. I Allow everything. I Accept it, even my non-acceptance. I accept."

Martha Beck

A Meditation of Acceptance...

I read these words yesterday on the wonderful Lissa Rankin's Newsletter. I read these words, and they were just what I needed at that moment. Words she once learnt from the also wonderful Martha Beck.

And of course, I reckoned I couldn't be alone with that feeling. And that's why we share what when learn along the way.

Here's to acceptance. That beautiful acceptance.

Much Loves,

Angela.

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Meditation...

"You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day. 

Unless you are too busy. Then you should sit for an hour."

Old Zen Adage

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One Religion...

"I love you when you bow in your mosque, 

kneel in your temple, and pray in your church. 

For you and I are sons and daughters of one religion, 

and it is the Spirit."

Khalil Gibran

Photograph Credits: Gregory Colbert

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Meditation...

"If every child in  the world would be taught meditation, 

we would eliminate violence from the world within one generation."

The Dalai Lama

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What If...

"What if our religion was each other, If our practice was our life and if prayer our words? What if the temple was the Earth, if forests were our church and if holy waters were the rivers, lakes, and oceans? What if meditation was our relationships, the teacher was life and wisdom was knowledge? what if love was the center of our being? "

Ganga White

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